The 'Chileans in Australia: Experiences and Memories' Project
Motive
The Chilean community in Australia comprises some 43 thousand people, including second and third generation Chileans. The majority of this community arrived in Australia in successive migration waves, which began in the late 1960s, and lasted twenty years.
The Australian-Chilean people have become each time more integrated in the Australian community, especially the younger generations. And yet members of the community do continue to maintain social and cultural Chilean traditions and an important sentiment of fondness for Chile.
The community has made an interesting contribution to the enrichment of the Australian multicultural society while simultaneously developing an appreciation of Chile and Chilean tradition. However, the community has not yet been portrayed as a united group, but rather has tended to express itself in terms of distinct group identities.
Thus it becomes important to emphasise the contributions made by Chileans to multicultural Australia while at the same time motivating the younger generation of Chilean descendents to learn about and appreciate their heritage. In other words, generate a sentiment of pride in what has been achieved by the previous generation and a feeling of belonging to the Chilean culture.
In turn, Chile must not fail to take advantage of the contribution made by her people to the creation of ties with Australia. Chile must do whatever possible to prolong a sentiment of belonging to ‘Mother Chile’ among the new generation of Australian Chileans. Importantly, however, this sentiment must not impinge upon their cultural identification as Australians. A project of this kind will have significant repercussions in the prolongation of ties across the pacific.
It is also necessary to gather the testimonies of the sons and daughters of Australian-born Chileans so as to observe how they perceive Chile and her culture and how they might contribute to a common project/goal. This would have to form part of a distinct initiative.
Took all the pictures, Ms. Ximena Aguilar
The Project
The project involves the collection of the personal stories (and family photos) of all persons who volunteer to contribute, either in writing or orally, for the purpose of publishing a collective history in successive editions. Together, these contributions will form a testimony to the Chilean contribution to this nation and promote a feeling of belonging and pride in the descendents of Chileans in Australia.
The personal stories will be collected from those Chileans who arrived in Australia prior to 1995. Contributions will be guided by questionnaire calling on the participants’ memories of Chile and their Chilean family, their adaptation to Australia and the Australian lifestyle, their contributions to the society of this country, and what they would like to pass on in way of Chilean culture to their descendents. Stories containing criticisms of third parties or which have not been properly signed will not be accepted.
A selection of the published volumes will be committed to the National Library of Australia and the National Archives of Australia as a contribution from the Chilean community. Likewise, the publications will be presented to the National Library of Chile and the National Archives of Chile so as to serve as a reference for studies of Chilean emigration.
Commission
A Commission of the Project “Chileans in Australia: Experiences and Memories” will be created to collect the personal stories and select those suitable for publication. This Commission, with the support of the Chilean Embassy in Australia, will seek the cooperation of all Chilean communities within Australia for the implementation of the project. A representative from the Commission in each state will be designated responsible for the progress of the project.
The contents of each personal story will be the at the discretion of each individual. The testimonies concern the individual’s life and the Commission has no responsibility in this regard. The Commission does however reserve the right to make any necessary modifications in terms of format, syntax and orthography.
Independent of the public editions mentioned, which constitute the one of the primary objectives of the project, a selection of the publications will be forwarded to the Chilean Ministry for Foreign Affairs (Division of Chilean Communities Abroad) as a means of meeting the costs of the project.
Another selection of the books will be acquired by the Chilean Embassy in Australia as an addition to the archive and for eventual circulation.
The remaining books will be available to the Chilean community at the cost of the publication. Any additional funds will be given to an Australian or Chilean charity upon the completion of the project. The Commission will supervise this process.
Collection of the Personal Stories
Those persons wishing to contribute to the project have several options for participation:
- Forwarding their personal story by post:
Commission of the Project “Chileans in Australia: Experiences and Memories”
C/o The Embassy of Chile in Australia
PO Box 69
Red Hill
ACT 2603 - Forwarding their personal story via email:
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Making an appointment with a Commission volunteer or a volunteer from a Chilean community/group to pass on their story orally. The volunteer will process the information and ask the participant to sign the testimony before it is sent to the Commission.
Arrangements for such appointments are being finalised. Details will be published on this site when available.
The stories must not exceed four pages in length so as to guarantee a relatively uniform and equitable format.
The Questionnaire
This provides an outline of what participants in the study may wish to include in their contributions. Please do not feel obligated to adhere directly to the questions, but rather use them as a guide to the structure of your contribution.
Chile
- Which part of Chile do you come from?
- Do you have family in Chile? Who are they? Discuss them with us if you wish.
- In a few words, what is you most vivid memory of Chile?
- What were your reasons for coming to Australia?
- What did you know about Australia before leaving Chile?
- How did your family in Chile feel about your decision to come to Australia?
Australia – Integration in the Australian Society
- When and how did you come to Australia?
- What was your first impression of Australia on arrival?
- Have you integrated with the Australian society? Have you felt discriminated against?
- What language do you speak at home?
- After some time here do you feel at home? Or do you still consider yourself to be passing through?
- In what sense have you realised your dreams or aspirations?
- Are all those in your family group of Chilean origin
Your Future
- Share with us something about Chile or Australia that you would like to pass on to your children.
- Do you belong to a Chilean community group? This may include a club, an association, a church, etc.
- How do you see the future of the Chilean community in Australia?
- What are your goals/projects for the future?
- How do you see Chile now, from a distance?
Participants are encouraged to share an anecdote about their adaptation to life in Australia.
Publication
Submissions will be published in a series of books progressively (on a monthly basis) so as to comprehensively cover the personal stories of the community in a time frame of 1.5 yrs.
Publication of the stories is subject to the participants’ acceptance that testimonies may be edited.
The commission cannot endorse fortuitous denouncements against third parties – they must be presented to the Justice Tribunals in Australia or Chile.
Last updated: May 1, 2006